Arctic Light

No. 1: RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK
Search Party | Panic Attack | “If only we could hold on.” (Icysami x Renegaderr, Strangers.)

600 words, Algy & team, mid 1930s sometime

( 600 words under the cut )

Not what I was planning on writing, but last night I finished Dick Francis's Flying Finish and it got me by the neck and before I knew it I was writing a tag. Also, the scene that dropped into my brain after I finished the book worked pretty well, with a bit of tweaking, for today's Whumptober prompt.

No. 29: "I only sink deeper the deeper I think."
Scented Candle | Troubled Past Resurfacing | "What happened to me?"

Homing Instinct (2332 words) by Sholio
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Flying Finish - Dick Francis
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Henry Grey (Flying Finish), Patrick (Flying Finish), Gabriella Barzina (Flying Finish)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Aftermath, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Whumptober 2023
Summary: Aftermath for "Flying Finish," because the book ended too soon.

This probably doesn't stand on its own very well, and spoils a neat twist in the climax. That being said, if you like the idea of a book about a lonely, emotionally distant pilot/jockey (look, it's a Dick Francis book, okay) being adopted by friendly smugglers who smuggle for good and noble reasons, plus lots of airplane hijinks, have I got the book for you.

(Also, I now know enough about loading racehorses on airplanes for transport that I feel like I need to write a Biggles fic about it.)

Actually following the calendar is overrated.

--

No. 9: “Learning everything ain’t what it seems, that’s the thing about these days.”
Polaroid | Mistaken Identity | “You’re a liar.”

( Biggles & Algy, 215 wds )


No. 22: “They never saw us coming, ‘til they hit the floor.”
Glass Shard | Vehicular Accident | “Watch out!”

( Erich & Biggles & Algy, 360 wds )

Temptation was too much. I blame peer pressure.

Full Whumptober prompt list

No. 4: “I see the danger, It’s written there in your eyes.”
Cattle Prod | Shock | “You in there?”

( 700 words under the cut; CW torture )

scioscribe requested this with Steve and Robin. And this brings us to the end! I'll put up a masterlist broken down by fandom later today.

--

Robin didn't hug, had never hugged. Growing up with three brothers and a single dad, she'd grown up understanding that affection was expressed through manly punches on the shoulder.

So it surprised her as much as it did Steve when he walked, or limped rather, out of the hole in the wall of (what was left of) the high school gym, covered in blood and slime, and she threw her arms around him.

She let go 0.3 seconds later, and followed it up with a manly punch to the shoulder. "Ow," Steve said.

"What are you covered in?" She shook her hands. "What am I covered in?"

"Don't ask." He wobbled, and Robin caught hold of him, slime and all, and guided him to sit on a fallen piece of wall.

She didn't say I thought you were dead. She didn't even think it. But she sat beside him, and eventually he leaned against her and she leaned back and rested her head on his shoulder, until the emergency vehicles showed up.

sovay claimed this one; it came out of a discussion on one of the earlier fics.

Future Imperfect (2563 words) by Sholio
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Iron Fist (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Ward Meachum, Danny Rand
Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 01, Tattoos, Recovery, Character Study, Whumptober
Summary: Ward gets a tattoo, and works through a few things. Set mainly between seasons.

( Master List )

Requested by st_aurafina with Frank & Leo (post-apocalyptic or regular universe). I went post-apocalyptic; this is in the same universe as Math and Poetry and Gunmanship. It's also long enough that it probably could go on AO3 but it doesn't feel quite complete enough for it. Takes place at some point after (but not all that far after) the end of the other fic, maybe a few weeks later.

--

"Huh," the bandit leader murmured, climbing down off his bike. "Looks like he came."

Leo squinted against the dust and the glare of the setting sun. She didn't have a good view; she was gagged, hands tied, and the only thing keeping her from falling off the back of the bike they'd set her on was the fact that she was tied to it. She couldn't even wipe the dust out of her eyes; all she could do was blink, and by now it must look like she'd been crying.

She wasn't. She hadn't cried at all. Frank needed to know that.

( Continues for 2000 words under the cut )

( Master List )

The other request I got for this prompt was from Punknatch on Discord, who wanted Danny hiding an injury from the rest of the Defenders.

--

Jessica was not going to be the one to ask Danny if he was okay. She was not going to be the -- she was not ...

Oh fine.

"Hey," she said, leaning forward and giving his arm a shove. "You spacing out on us, Fist Boy?"

( Continues under the cut )

( Master List )

Technically rachelmanija asked for Secret Injury, but I got several requests for that one, so I'm farming them out to other compatible spaces. I'm also considering this a sort of joint gift for Rachel and maplemood, since hers was so short. <3

Hideout (2827 words) by Sholio
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Amy Bendix & Frank Castle
Characters: Amy Bendix, Frank Castle
Additional Tags: Stabbing, Blood Loss, On the Run, Whumptober
Summary: Amy and Frank are on the run. Again. And Frank is hurt worse than he's willing to let on.

( Master List )

I shamelessly claimed this one for myself because I had something in particular I wanted to write for it.

Monochrome Delirious (3855 words) by Sholio
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Iron Fist (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ward Meachum & Danny Rand
Characters: Danny Rand, Ward Meachum
Additional Tags: Non-Consensual Drug Use, Spiked drink, Whumptober
Summary: They were partway into negotiations with three arms dealers in a dockside dive bar in Jakarta when Ward said in a strange voice, "Danny, we gotta go."

Definitely a hard choice whether to use my drugged Ward or my "up yours" Ward icon for this one. Decided to go with Ward expressing his likely opinions on his role in stories of this nature.

( Master List )